Slivers Of You
by Blkwidow77
Summary: A glimpse into the lives of those who reside in the precarious world of Yu Yu Hakusho. I begin my Christmas tale, with our dear friend Yukina. Such a sweet innocent creature she is. But what do we really know about this quiet seemingly unspoiled female? I
1. A Blissful Winter's Kiss

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"_**Slivers Of You"**_

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This is...

My Christmas present to all my faithful readers I've collected over the last year. Thanx so much everyone.

This is what I give you. A special YYH Christmas. Each chapter will be a different character's perspective. The final chapter will be Christmas Day itself and will probably be in everybody's perspectives, I guess. At any rate, Each chapter is suppose to give you a glimpse into each person's soul. You'll have to tell me whether you think I did an ACCURATE one or not. It's all a matter of opinion.

And the notes are short because I don't want to violate fan fiction's rules and get the story kicked off. If you liked my original notes style, email me and I'll send you a link of where you can find them. Happy Holidays all!

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"_**A Blissful Winters Kiss"**_

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_**--YUKINA--**_

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It is different for me here. The winter is not the same. It does not smell the same, or strangely enough, even feel the same. It is not to say that that is bad. I'm not complaining. I like the experience.

It is really the very first time that I have spent a winter away from my true home, the Floating Kingdom of the Koorime, in the Makai. The winters there... _are special._ Especially to Koorime like me. The winters last almost the whole year there. I think it has something to do with how high that land is. I guess it's lucky that I'm an ice apparition, the depth of the cold doesn't bother me at all.

In fact, I really enjoy it. It is when I feel the most comfortable in my skin, when I feel the most in tune with nature around me. I just... BELONG there, you know?

And the whole Floating Kingdom is just the most beautiful place one could imagine. The land looks like it stretches on forever, with lush tall dark pines weighted heavy with fallen snow, bowing down to the world. The mountains climb high, way off in the distance and almost look as blue as the sky, even though I know they're not, that's the way they look to me.

All of the sudden I realize my feet are burning hot!

I look down at them startled, curling them back under the chair I was perched on. I've gotten too close to the fireplace that Genkai has lit tonight. Fire is a beautiful thing to look at, but far too warm for my blood. I can't rationalize to myself, why I would sit so close to it? How could I not have been paying attention?

I guess I was just truly lost in my thoughts.

But I must be more careful then that. Just as excessive cold can harm humans, excessive heat can harm Ice Apparitions. I pull my feet from where I slid them beneath the chair to feel them. They are hot and swollen, tinged with red. They are tender now and screaming at me. I rub them gently with my hands but my hands are too warm too and it doesn't do much good. And I don't know if it's because I looked at my feet or not, but now I just don't feel so good. I have been careless with myself, the others would be mad at me. Botan would probably even scold me.

It's nice that they are so kind to care about me so. I am very fortunate to have them all around and how Genkai opened her home to me so graciously. I can't begin to repay her kindness. '_Perhaps I should start by making dinner?_' I smile to myself. Yes, I think she would like that. She has been meditating hard all day, I'm sure she'll be quite hungry soon!

But first, I think I'll step out a moment to cool my feet off. '_They are rather mad at me, I think!_' I giggle. I slid open the door to the outside, as quietly and softly as I could. I don't wish to disturb Genkai. As I step outside, a gush of winter blows past me, lifting my hair. I smile wide, inhaling it and feeling it surround me like a old friend. How wonderful.. This cold crisp air feels so good I could cry.

It is so hard for me sometimes, to understand how humans dislike the winter so. But I try to remember how fragile they are, how the cold must hurt them and that's why they don't really like it. It does seem a shame, for them to miss its beauty. Their lives are so short as it is, that it really seems a horrible injustice for them to miss anything. One should revel in every moment one has! And for humans it is even more true.

But even I, myself, am often frightened by experiences I have. After all, I did not leave the safety of The Floating Kingdom that long ago, and everything is still quite new to me. And though it may be hard for me, some of these things that I experience, I am not sorry for any of it. I am all the more richer for each moment, it is truly a gift.

'_Which reminds me.. ._.' I smile even brighter at my train of thought. I love the idea of the holiday my human friends are soon to celebrate. '_hmmm..._.' I twist my fingers lightly as I try to think 'What did Keiko call it again?'

Oh yes! That's it! It was called Christmas. Keiko had been so kind as to explain it to me and I think I understood it right..

She said there are some humans on this planet that have a 'religion' of their own called 'Christianity'. And on a certain day coming up is the birthday of one of their gods. I remember thinking it strange that we should celebrate Christmas, if its for a birthday of a God we don't know to even exist. I asked Keiko why we would bother, and she said that most likely they were talking about Koenma and King Yama anyway. And even if they weren't, Christmas is a day you're supposed to celebrate by showing love and good will to everyone. That you were supposed to show affection towards everyone and it was generally spent with family and friends and good food.

A day of happiness and love.

Yes. It sounds wonderful. I was happy to be a part of it. She then went on to tell me all the decorations that humans like to put out, it all sounds so colorful and happy, and some of the customs. She told me about how people who care about it each other exchange gifts often. I was concerned about that. What do I have to give to others? I really don't own anything or have 'money' that they use here.

I step down Genkai's stone steps out into the snow that comes all the way up to my calves. It is wet and slick and great! I immediately feel more relaxed. Then it comes to me! That's it! That's what I can give everyone here that I care for! I will prepare a special meal, a recipe from the Makai. I'm sure that they'll be so happy! I hope that they'll like it.

I am so ecstatic at the thought, that I dance happily in the snow. Round and round and round I dance and twirl, my soft green hair flying about me and in my face, partially blocking my vision. And I laugh as it begins to snow down on me ever so quiet as it always is. And I spin and spin, my arms all the way out to catch it as I twirl in circles.

It catches up to me though, and dizzy, I fall backwards into my soft white blanket, still laughing like the child I once was. In some ways, I don't think I've ever grown up. I've always lived so sheltered in the Floating Kingdom, and even here, the others continue to shelter me from everything. So I've pretty much remained as I have always been.

The deliciously cold snow snuggles me completely as I lie there. Grabbing fistfuls on either side of me, I toss it dramatically back towards the sky, as if I could truly return it to where it came from. But it just goes up a few feet from the tips of my fingers and then plummets back down in clumps, some of which land in my face. I had to quickly close my eyes! But I love it, I love everything about the snow.. .. Everything. It is the place I call home.

I slowly open my eyes again, staring up into the gray and white clouded sky, as the white dots of snow slowly drift down to cover me up, when I notice something..

A black shadow in a bare winter tree, is a little way off from me. I nearly jump! But I remain where I am and find myself staring into eyes that are as deep and red as my own. It's Hiei. I don't know how I didn't know it was him right away, but I guess I've been daydreaming again.

He continues to stare at me without batting an eyelash or saying a word. I'm not sure what he wants, but I suppose I don't really mind that he watches me. I realize that he frightens people but I just feel warm and safe when he's around. I actually like that he appears sometimes. He never says anything to me or wants anything, he's just kind of there.. .._ watching_.

And now I watch him right back, absorbing the cascading lines of his dark cloak and the sharp points of his wild demon hair. I like to look at him too. Though I would be much too embarrassed to ever tell him so, especially because he might ask me why and I don't have an answer..

I continue to watch him back, as my eyelashes grow wet and heavy with my precious snow. And he is the first to break our eye contact. Giving a rare half smile and a soft 'hn', he closes his eyes slowly and slides down the back of the trunk of the tree to sit on a fat branch and nap. I giggle softly at his silliness. Sometimes he does the most peculiar things. As dangerous and scary as people seem to think he is, he looks so soft and gentle to me. I wonder why that is?

Even though he has broken our staring game, I continue to stare at his slumped shape against the tree, above me. My eyes lose focus as my thoughts drift off.. ..

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzz

I know I've seen Hiei before. I mean, before I met all the other, or was ever really aware of the human. Back when I only knew The Floating Kingdom of the Koormine. When I took my walks through the wilderness surrounding my village and home, there were just times that I felt watched. And I'd look around and up and I would catch just the briefest glimpse of him. But I know it was him. I'd recognize him anywhere.

But the strange thing was, that anytime I caught him watching me, he would disappear again. Why did he always run? I realize that Ice Apparitions aren't suppose to have any contact with any but our own kind, but why should that stop Hiei? He doesn't strike me as someone who scares very easily.

And then there was that one day, so long ago now.. ..

OoOoO

I had been taking a slow leisurely walk through the woods that ran around our village. It was not anything unusual for me. I like to converse with the birds. But that day I had wandered in a direction that I don't usually walk, it was darker there and there were fewer birds. It was very quiet.

Then abruptly up ahead I heard the screeching cry of a wounded animal. A death cry.. .. I rushed forward, hoping to offer comfort to its pain. As I ran into the clearing, my hair whipping me wildly behind, I screamed out myself, in horror of the sight. It was a large beast, it reminds me of the lions that live on this planet with it body and jaws.

But this creature.. this poor creature was now no longer fierce. It lay deathly still on its side, its stomach split wide and the snow tainted dark red and melting against the heat. The creature whined and breathed funny, in short choppy breathes as it struggled against death. It was so horrible.. So very very horrible..

I just wanted to close my eyes.

I rushed forward towards the massive creature, that was twice my size, and laid my hands upon it, lifting away some of its pain. It looked as me with glassy eyes and continued to whimper. My tears cascaded down my face, pelting my lap as they crystallized, lost amongst the snow. This poor poor creature. I wondered who could have done this.

But even as I had just begun to wonder, out of the corner of my eye I saw him.. .. _Hiei._ Off on the other side of the clearing, high upon a branch, he stood looking down.

And I knew.. I KNEW.. it had been him.

I didn't want to believe it, as the tears fell hard from my cheeks, as I looked up at him. Still he said nothing. Offered no explanation for this. And I tore my gaze from his, to look back down at his prey.

The creature was breathing hard now, and its eyes no longer saw anything, as it stared forward past me. I stroked its soft fur by its face, so it did not feel that it was alone. I felt it sigh at my touch, then expel breath hard one final time, as the light faded from its eyes.

That's the last I saw, as my own vision blurred in my soundless tears. I couldn't stop them. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt sad. Had I ever felt sad, before this moment? If so, it had never been like this. And I cried for this creature. And I cried for the way it suffered. And I stroked its fur, already wet with new snow.

I just couldn't understand why Hiei would have done this. He had always seemed so benign to me before. Had he been this way all along? I couldn't conceive of it at the time. It seemed unfathomable to an Ice Apparition, how cruel life can be, when we are so isolated from the rest of the world. How naïve I had been.

And I had continued to leak hard tears for some time, before I finally looked up and realized.. .._ I was alone._

I can't begin to express how alone I really felt at that moment. After all, it was a strange thing to say, when I walked alone in these woods all the time. But this time.. _it was different_. This time I was really alone. I realized this for the first time.

I had never felt like I was alone before that moment. And I think it was because of him. I think he had always been around watching me.. .. keeping me company. I just never realized he was the reason that I was never lonely.

But now I was lonely.

Truly lonely.

The tears came harder, the silence of the snow covered forest swamping me. It was too much. And I buried my face in the neck of this poor animal.

But I was ashamed of myself. As I continued to cry bitter tears.. .. my cheeks burned with embarrassment. For I realized that even as I cried for this creature, I was also crying.. for myself.

I experienced my first taste of jealousy. I was jealous of this creature.

It had been so close to _him. _

I saw a glimpse of myself and my desire to be close to Hiei. I had never recognized it till now, how I wished to be near him, for him to touch me and hold me close to comfort me. And this creature.. it had what I wanted, to be so close to him that it could smell him. To be touched by him, even if it was in a deadly manner. At this moment, I would happily turned my life over too.. .. _to be so close._

But that wish would never come true.

I never saw him again after that. I walked those woods alone for over a hundred years. And very rarely, I would feel that old feeling that I was watched, but I never saw him. I would look again. He was never there no matter how many times I turned to catch a glimpse of him.

He was never there again.

_Until now._

When I had been kidnapped for my tears, and my wonderful friends had come to save me, I saw him that day. For the first time in hundreds of years, he stood before me, protecting me from the human that had kidnapped me.

And my deepest wish came true.

As he stood only feet away from me, and his intoxicating scent of pine needles and fresh running mountain waterfalls filled my senses. I even held him, as I gripped his arm, to prevent him from killing the human. And though I am ashamed to admit it, I can't say that I only did it to spare the human's life. I didn't want the human to die but.. but I.. .. needed to touch him.

He did not run this time. He stayed as we stared at each other for the first of many times to come. And I found I could not ask him, that question I had held from that day from so long ago.

_I just never could.._

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzz

I finally fell out of my vegetative day dreaming state, a little shaken. It has been so long since I've thought of these things. I focus my eyes once more, to find that Hiei still naps in the tree. I smile up at him, amazed at how everything has turned out. How my wish came true.

He is my Christmas present.

I hope, that when I finally find my brother I've been looking for, that he will be as wonderful as Hiei.

I pick myself up and dust myself off. I have been day dreaming so long, that the day is almost gone. I will have to hurry to get dinner ready. I rush inside to the kitchen only to realize that we have run out of rice! That will not do!

I hate to disturb Genkai, but I walk into the living room to tell her I'm going to the market for rice. I don't want her to worry about me. "_Don't be too long, it's getting dark soon."_ Genkai tells me. Such a kind woman. I assure her that I'll be quick and hurry off.

Walking quickly down the streets of downtown, I have to be careful not be stepped on. I'm kind of short unfortunately, and it is crowded. People just don't see me. I don't mind though. It's a good thing that they don't see me. My red eyes and light green hair stick out in the human world. Apparently these are unnatural things for humans and they asks me questions that I can't answer.

I find the grocery store I always go to, up ahead. They are very kind to me there, they don't ask me embarrassing questions. I was even pleased to find a piece of fish on sale. It will be good to add to our dinner, and I ask the clerk to wrap it up.

"_How are you doing today?_" he asks me with such open kindness. "_I am having a wonderful day. I just love the snowfall." _I answer just as sweetly back. "_Yes, it is nice. It's getting close to Christmas. Is your family getting together this year?" _he continues. He doesn't know what I am, or where I'm from. I freeze for a moment, not knowing how to answer. But it occurs to me, that yes my family **IS** getting together. My friends are my family. Kurama and Keiko, Yuusuke and Genkai. And Kuwabara and Suizuru and especially... Hiei. I flush, answering "_Yes! It will be wonderful this year, I think!"_ I beam at him. He smiles back, sharing in my happiness.

I leave the store with a light heart. My mind succumbing to day dreams yet again, as I try to picture what Christmas will be like. I just can't wait! I haven't been this excited for a very long time!

Walking by an alley, I never saw the group of human males that stood there until it was too late. They grab and wretch me into the dark alley that was dirty with soot covered mushy snow.

I clutched tightly to my little bag of food for dinner, as if it could hide me from them. So many humans are so very kind. But some..

And I was frightened. I am not a strong demon. But these weren't demons at all and I could probably fend them off. The problem is.. that I don't think I could. Hurting creatures is just not something I can do. I would feel so terrible. I could just never do it. I wished.. Hiei were here. And yet I don't. He may kill them. I don't want that either.

"_Hey sweet thang! Don't look so frightened. We just want a little sugar from you honey, that's all."_ said one of them, but I think he's lying. "_Yeah hot little momma! We like you a lot!"_ spouted another at me. I pulled my bag closer.

"_Don't act shy!_" one snapped from the back "_We can see that you're a wild thing with those red contacts and crazy colored hair." _

"_But I.._" I stumbled at him. How can I explain those are real? The one closest to me, grinning widely, reaches out toward me. I shrink back against the wall cringing.

He never touches me.

"_HEY! What do you guys think you're doing?"_ screamed a voice I knew. It was Kuwabara! I was so happy to see him!

Kuwabara grabbed the guy and hit him so hard in the face that he landed half way down the alley. I felt a little sorry for him. "_Are you ok my love?" _Kuwabara asks me, with a strange light in his eyes. I nod my head meekly and try to say something but another one of those guys hits him. He growls, and momentarily forgetting me, he charges at them.

I cover my eyes.

When I finally open them again, Kuwabara stands before me, smiling at me despite a busted lip. I reach up and touch it, healing it closed. "_Thanks Yukina. I really appreciate that."_ gushes Kuwabara, like a little boy. "_They didn't hurt you, did they?" _he asks, sounding truly worried. I shake my head no. And before I can say another word. He scoops me up. "_Were you headed back to Genkai's?"_ Kuwabara inquires.

"_Yes. I have just bought some things for dinner.."_ I started. But before I could finish he was walking off with me held tightly in his arms

"_I'll walk you there then! You shouldn't go places alone. It's too dangerous. Just call me next time and I'll come!" _he tells with sincerity. I smile and nod. He is one of many of my wonderful friends.. .. ..

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This is the end... my friend.

See ya'll next chapter! ~waves dramatically~


	2. Surprises Aren’t Good For The Heart!”

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This fic, I have to say, is a lot harder for me to write then "Twitch, Twitch".. That's for damn sure! See, Twitch, Twitch has the complex plot line going for it, that actually is a LOT of help, cuz there's always something that needs to be developed and that really keeps the story going. On the other hand, this one, is just a short special. 'A Day In The Life Of' kind of thing, that wraps up each character's perspective by the end of the chapter. To create a miniature storyline for each person, is a lot harder. This is a fact that's bit me square in the butt as I try to write it. That's why it taking me so long to update. Who knew?

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"**Surprises Aren't Good For The Heart!!"**

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_**Previously:**_

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_**----YUKINA----**_

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_When I finally open them again, Kuwabara stands before me, smiling at me despite a busted lip. I reach up and touch it, healing it closed. " Thanks Yukina. I really appreciate that." gushes Kuwabara, like a little boy. " They didn't hurt you, did they?" he asks, sounding truly worried. I shake my head no. And before I can say another word. He scoops me up. " Were you headed back to Genkai's?" Kuwabara inquires. _

" _Yes. I have just bought some things for dinner.." I started. Before I could finish he was walking off with me held tightly in his arms _

" _I'll walk you there then! You shouldn't go places alone. It's too dangerous. Just call me next time and I'll come!" he tells me with sincerity. I smile and nod. He is one of many of my wonderful friends.. .. .._

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**----KUWABARA----**

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It had been a pretty crappy day at school. Not like it isn't always, just that some days are worse than others. This had definitely been one of those days….

I had been up too late last night playing cards with my boys. I did invite that damn Urameshi, but he told me he promised Keiko he'd go Christmas shopping with her. Well that really pissed me off! How stupid does he think I am!?! I know for a fact, he'd never agree to doing that girly stuff, even for Keiko. If he didn't want to come then he should have just said so! I hate being lied to.

So when my alarm went off this morning. I didn't hear it. '_Hell! I probably wouldn't have heard an atom bomb going off either!_' I chuckle to myself. But just because I could ignore my alarm, doesn't mean I was dead enough to ignore my sister Shizuru. I wish…

" _--Man! That sister of mine really pisses me off sometimes!-- _" I grumble out loud, then I turn quickly around to make she isn't there. You never know with her, and she really scares the hell out of me sometimes. The girl is just crazy! But she isn't around me, so I can relax.

But anyway, so I didn't hear that alarm this morning and I guess it pissed her off. The sound of it, I mean. She came storming into my room like a hurricane and clocked me so hard in the face, that I woke up to major pain, as I found myself rolling on the floor before crashing face first into my bookcase. Not a nice way to wake up…

" _--Learn to turn off your god damn alarm clock Kuzuma!-- _" she snarled at me, in her usual first-thing-in-the-morning pleasant attitude.

Starting to pick myself up, I grouch back " _--Why don't you turn it off yourself? You're already there. You gotta wake me up like that? --_"

Well… That seemed to be the wrong thing to say to her, 'cuz as she stood there with her hands on her hips and her teeth clenched, her eyes just glowed like fire. '_Kinda looked like one of the demons in the Makai_' I thought a little frightened. Yep. Wrong thing to say!

I jumped up quickly and put my hands up to protect my beautiful face. After all, I don't want Yukina to be disappointed as I said squeamishly "-_- Sorry Shuizuru! I was just kidding! ha ha… I'll turn it off myself, k?-- _" I gave her my goofiest grin, hoping that will help me. She continued to glare at me for a minute, before she grunted then stormed off.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I had rushed to get dressed and get the hell out there, before she could change her mind again! Man my sister can be one mean lady!

That had been my morning.

My day at school hadn't been much better. Urameshi, once again, was no where to be seen inside school grounds. So what happens then? The damn teachers pick on me more cuz Urameshi ain't here. It just isn't right. I'm gonna get that punk for this! Just wait till after school…

That had been my plan anyway. I uh… got detention. Some crap about me falling asleep in an important history event in the 3rd year of the Tokagawa era. What**ever**! It's not like I was awake enough to even remember what exactly they told me. I was still right in the middle of my nap and they had interrupted it. Damn teachers! Who do they think they are anyway? Only my sister Suizuru can tell me to get smart!

Oh wait… She already does, doesn't she? Oh well. I don't have to listen to her either!

But that was it, the big part of my day. And it sucked. It really sucked.

That was then though. Then the late afternoon came along, after I had got released from detention, and my day.. .. Got unexpectedly better!

Once the teacher had let me go out of detention, last of course cuz he really hates me, I had took off running to catch up to Urameshi, where ever he was hiding. But no matter where I checked I couldn't find him. Not at the arcade, not at the strip mall by the beach with all the hot babes and not in any of the fights in the alley way. I couldn't figure out where he was, I was really puzzled.

Then it struck me, the last place I could try to see if he was skulking at.. .. Genkai's. It was a long shot, cuz he doesn't particularly care for the way she tortures him, but maybe. At any rate, there wasn't anywhere else I could think to look. It was there or give up, and I had no intention of giving up!

Well.. that and.. Yukina would be there! Even if Urameshi wasn't there, I could at least spend time with her! I'd rather spend my time with her, then that disappearing Urameshi, ANY day of the week! OR… EVERY day of the week! _he he.._

So I had headed off in the direction of Genkai's temple. It was gonna be a long walk there, she lived on the out skirts of the city, but I wasn't in a huge rush either. I had gotten about half way there, where the streets are filled with smaller stores and more grocery stores, when I was startled to see sea green hair. It was my _beautiful_ Yukina! I may have been five blocks away, but I'd recognize her from half a world away! My whole soul just brightened at the sight of her! I was walking on air!

I picked up my pace, in order to reach her quicker. I wondered what she had come to buy? Just the thought of her sweet voice on my ears, made me embarrassingly happy. One of these days.. I'm gonna marry her!

And I picked myself up a little straighter, puffed out my chest and started strutting towards her. I wanted to make sure that she saw me for the man that I am, as I get closer.

I should have been paying more attention though. I saw it too late, as a bunch of high school drop out thugs stepped in front of my precious Yukina. They were surrounding her, and before they thought anyone could see, they drug her into the alleyway.

I was infuriated! My poor little Yukina, she looked so lost and frightened as she clutched some brown bag. I had to protect my love! I took off running towards the alley way as fast as I could. But there was snow and ice along the sidewalk that slowed me down. I almost slipped and fell at least three times.

I pressed on though! I had to reach her! It seemed to take me forever to get there, like time had slowed down just to torment me. I couldn't take it! What if they touched her! She must be so scared! "_-- I'll save you! --"_ I screamed towards that alley. I hoped she could hear me! I was only a half a block away then.

I could hear them! Those scumbags, as I had just about reached the alleyway.. " -_-Yeah hot little momma! We like you a lot!--" _…. "-_- Don't act shy… -_-"

I tore around the corner, slipping on ice and almost crashed into the brick wall. I could just barely catch myself before I smashed my head into the bricks! But I was panicked that they had hurt her, or were going to if I couldn't save her in time. I couldn't see her either.

I heard her gentle voice say "-_-But I..-_-" Those thugs had her backed into a wall and surrounded. That.. made me.. **very angry..**

_.. I'll rip them to shreds.._

I snarled "_-- HEY! What do you guys think you're doing? -_-" I had wanted to say something a LOT nastier, but Yukina was there and you don't curse in front of girls. It just isn't right. So I bit my tongue.

But that doesn't mean, that I was going to let them off easy either. I grabbed the first guy I could reach, some goofy looking guy with dark green hair spiked just over his ears. What a loser, and just hit him with all my anger. I loved the sound of his body as it crashed into the trash cans half way down the alley.

This jerk had been standing directly in front of Yukina, blocking me from seeing her. But now that he was gone…

" _--Yukina! Are you ok my love? -_-" I asked her, scanning her for any signs that they had dared touch her. She nods at me in her super sweet way, that she was ok and I could just collapse from relief.

Not that I got to enjoy my romantic moment with her. Just as I was about to ask her if she'd like to get a bite to eat, one of the other guys punked me. That really pissed me off. Couldn't these assholes see that I was busy here?

Just because they were too ugly to get a beautiful girl like Yukina.. I had completely forgotten they were even there actually. But now I remember and they were gonna be sorry! They were going to pay!

I went after the guy that punked me first. He stood there like he thought that he could actually take me. I laughed at him, he obviously doesn't recognize me, and I jumped kicked him right in his ugly mug. He crashed backwards several steps, head first into the brick wall, and knocked himself out. I really felt like laughing 'cuz I had almost done that a few minutes ago!

The other guy came up behind me, while I was trying not to laugh at the guy that ate bricks, and he wrapped his arms around me, trying to pick me up. That was really funny too! I'm not some shrimp like Hiei. I'm tall and I got me lots of muscle from working out, so I look good for the ladies! This weak little guy actually thought he could pick me up?

He finally, after grunting a lot and having no success at picking me up, let go. I turned around and he socked me as hard as he could in the stomach. I barely felt it. I guess after fighting demons, humans just weren't a challenge anymore. It's strange and kind of sad. Oh well! I still have Urameshi to beat on! At least.. If I could find him!

I grabbed the shrimpy guy by the head. You know, placing my hands over his ears, then really quick bringing it closer, I crashed my skull against his. I heard a huge thick bone on bone thump sound , and when I let the guy's head go, he sunk to the floor unconscious. This is a little too easy.

The last guy, having watched it all, whimped out and took off. How dishonorable! To leave your friends like that! My friends would never leave me behind. _Uh…_ well maybe Hiei would, but he doesn't count!

I turned back to Yukina to make sure she was really alright and she was smiling at me. I could tell though, that she didn't like to see all the violence. I felt bad. She shouldn't have had to watch. I should have thought about her more!

I walked over to her slow, getting ready to apologize to her for having to see that. But before I get a chance to say a thing, she reaches up and heals my lip one of the guys busted. She is such a kind person, I just feel like grabbing her and kissing her. I hold back though and say, a little too thankful " _--Thanks Yukina. I really appreciate that.--"_

That's when I notice that her hair looks a little messy after all, and her bag is nearly squished. I get extremely worried " _--They didn't hurt you, did they?--"_ I sighed in relief real loud when she softly shook her head 'no' and smiled up at me.

I wasn't willing to take anymore chances and I picked her slight form right up off the ground. She was so small and so light, I wasn't entirely sure she was even there! She looked really surprised but I started walking quickly, so I could hold her for as long as possible before I had to put her down. I saw her bag of food and knew she had been grocery shopping, but I wanted to talk to her, so I asked " _--Were you headed back to Genkai's?--"_

She looked up at me, blinking innocently for a moment before answering "_ --Yes. I have just bought some things for dinner.. --"_ She stared up at me with those beautiful red eyes, and I just melted… In fact, I almost dropped her!

I can't help my protective side though, and I say a little to serious " -_-I'll walk you there then! You shouldn't go places alone. It's too dangerous. Just call me next time and I'll come! --"_ I thought I might even make her mad at being so bossy but she just looks at me with that glowing smile…

But that's the besides the point, as I look at her, I just can't imagine life without her. I'm just so happy when I see her. I've told her how I feel lots of times, but sometimes I get the impression that she doesn't know. That's a real strange thought. How can she not know when I tell her over and over? But sometimes.. _I just don't think she does.._

As we walk along the sidewalk, I keep Yukina held high up above in my arms, I don't want the snow to get her dress all wet. And all the stores now are getting ready for Christmas. The lights and decorations and stuff cover all the windows, that we pass and the walls too. Everybody seems to be going all out this year. Which gets me thinking.. I need to start saving some money to get Christmas presents this year. The really sad part is, that I got a long list and I'm completely broke.

Yukina smiles up at me, and I realize that I really want to get her something special for Christmas. Maybe that's how I can prove my love for her! I'll get her something so great that she'll squeal with joy! Just picturing that makes me laugh and Yukina looks at me funny, her eyebrows raising.

"_-- Um.. Kuzuma? --"_ Yukina asks quietly. I give her my full and undivided attention.

" _--Yeah?--"_ I tell her.

" _--Uh.. .. You can put me down now. I think it's safe.--"_ she tells me, hiding a smile. I turn seven shades of tomato red. I don't want to let her go. I really like holding her, but I can't tell her that. Sadly.. I put her down. She adjusts her Kimono and starts walking again.

We walk in silence for awhile, looking at the Christmas window displays as we pass. I'm watching to see if she likes something in particular. Really, I'm hoping really hard she sees something she likes 'cuz I haven't a clue what you're suppose to get a girl you like?!?!

But my sweet Yukina.. She never asks for anything. This is really going to be hard! Maybe Keiko could help me with this? But thinking of Keiko, reminds me of Yuusuke, which really makes me mad 'cuz I know that he's avoiding me. I punch my fist in my own hand, showing what I'm going do to him when I get my hands on him. Yukina turns around, looks at me startled and a little uncertain.

I blush and stammer "_-- Oh! Sorry Yukina! That wasn't directed at you! I was just thinking about Urameshi! he he eh..--"_ She looks at me a moment longer, then her smile returns and she continues walking. I burn brain cells trying to think up something to say to start a conversation. Maybe if I'm clever enough I can get her to tell me what she wants without her realizing it.

Five minutes pass… We walk past three stores looking. I can't think of nothing.

Ten minutes pass.. We've walked past two more really big store window displays. I still can't thing of a clever thing to say.

Fifteen minutes go by and I can't take it anymore!_ I give up!_

"_-- Yukina! What do you want?!?! -_-" I nearly shout at her in gushed words. She turns around and looks at me startled, stepping back. I blush. I didn't mean to scare her…

"_-- What ever do you mean Kuzuma?--"_ she tells me, blushing herself. I open my mouth, but I can't think of what to say. I open my mouth again, trying to get it out. Wow… I've really put my foot in my mouth this time. I turn redder and redder, as she continues to stare at me in wonder. Finally, I decide to say "-_- I'm just trying to-- _"

" _--Oi! Kuwabara! --"_ I hear a voice shout at me. A voice I know only too well! Damn that Urameshi! I turn around in a flash, ready to knock that head of his clean off his shoulders for ditching me today!

I turn around to find Urameshi looking desperate, as he waves at me and drags a pissed looking Keiko across the street straight for me! Hey! What is he thinking?! I don't want him dragging her over her after he's pissed her off! I've seen what that girl can do! She can probably hit nearly as hard as Shizuru! Looking around quickly, I try to find a place to escape. But I can't just leave Yukina here like that! No one must be left behind! That's part of my code! Damn that Urameshi! He's going to pay for this dearly!

I'm frozen in horror, like a deer caught in the headlights, as he drags her roughly across the busy street, nearly getting her hit. "_-- Yuusuke! Stop it! You're hurting me! Let go already! --"_ she told him roughly. You could tell she was doing her best to control her temper, but was failing. She was going to get him sooner or later!

He gets her across the street, and releases his grip on her as they step on the sidewalk. She immediately swings for the back of his head. Urameshi feels it coming though. Hell, he probably expects it, and shifts quickly to the side, just barely getting missed. He turns to face her the next second and grabs both of her hands. " _--Now Keiko, when did you go getting so violent on me?--"_ Urameshi teases her, giving her one of his rare soft smiles. She melts on contact.

I chuckle. Leave it to him, to grease his way out of that one. Urameshi turns to me then , with a different kind of smile, the kind that pleads '_help me_', and says dramatically " _--Kuwabara! I'm glad I finally found you! You ditched me today! --" L_ike it was **ME **that didn't show up for school instead of him. I glared at him, rearing to let loose some obscenities…

Yuusuke winks at me, like I should just play along. I don't, I still give him dirty looks. He comes a little closer and drops his voice to a whisper, so Keiko can't hear "-_- psst! Help me out here!--"_ I raise my voice "_-- Why should I when you're the one to--"_

"_-- Oh come on!--"_ Urameshi begs "_--I'll buy you a Sundae if you help out of-_-"

"_-- Yuusuke! Are you trying to ditch me? -_-" Keiko injected loudly, coming up beside Yuusuke so he couldn't whisper to me anymore. I really hated to be caught in the middle of his crap! " _--You __**PROMISED**__ me you'd help me Christmas shop for a couple hours Yuusuke! I had to hunt down where you were hiding after school, just to get you to come like you said! --"_ Keiko fumed at him.

"_--But Keiko, I was right in the middle of winning--"_ Yuusuke tried, but was cut off.

"_--And! You made me so embarrassed, having to practically cause a scene to get you to leave that damn arcade you're always in! --"_ Keiko practically shouted, as she grew momentum. Then Yuusuke got saved. **Damn him.**

"_--Keiko.. Um…--"_ came the delicate voice of my Yukina _"-- if you don't mind. I'd love to go shopping with you. It sounds like fun.--"_ She smiled at Keiko, in her happy way. Keiko looked at her, clearly liking the idea. My heart sank. I WANTED to shop with her. Hell. I'd do anything Yukina wanted, so long as I got to be with her. AND NOW, cuz of Yuusuke, she's being stolen right out from under my nose. I sigh… At least I'll get a Sundae out of this. And it better be a **HUGE **one!!

There is one thing I can do to, to make Urameshi pay…

"_--Hey Keiko! Urameshi's right. We did have something we were suppose to do today. I didn't want to spoil the surprise but… He asked me to help him find you a Christmas present. Told me he didn't have a clue what to get such a beautiful girl like you. --"_ I said, smooth as silk.

Keiko blushed immediately, stammering "_--I.. well… Sorry, I didn't know. I--"_

I step closer to her and lean in to whisper, but say loud enough intentionally so Urameshi can still hear "_--Don't worry Keiko. I'll make sure he gets you something really pretty!--"_

Keiko turns eleven shades of blister red. Yep! I'm smooth. If only I could have been that smooth with Yukina… I sigh.

Urameshi, sulking silently says nothing, just glares daggers at me. He knows that I did it on purpose. He gets half a block away and turns back, the irritation all over his face and snaps "_--You coming or what?--"_ I laugh. That's what he gets!

I wave goodbye to the girls. Look sadly at Yukina and my lost time with her, then turn and run to catch up with Urameshi.

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"-_-You just had to do that, didn't you?--" _Urameshi snapped at me, when I had caught up to his side. I give him one of my goofy grins.

"-_-Serves you right! I was spending time with my Yukina and you wreaked it.--" _I shot back at him. He doesn't respond, just keeps walking briskly through the streets with a scowl on his face and his hands shoved hard in his pocket.

"_--Why weren't you at school today Urameshi?--"_ I ask him, breaking our silence.

"_--Out.--"_ is all he mutters at me, still angry. I shrug my shoulders, figuring I'll ditch him, if he doesn't drop his attitude. Then he practically shouts at me, out of the blue "_--What'd ya go and tell Keiko that for? I don't have money to get her anything right now! I'm broke!--"_

I shrug my shoulders at him, clearly looking like I could care less. "-_-Then you'd better start working on getting some money, huh?-_-" I retort, kinda mean. Why shouldn't he get something nice for Keiko? She puts up with all his crap all year. Far as that goes, I should get something nice too!

Urameshi sees me smirking to myself, and he glares at me. "_-- This is all your fault. -_-" he goads.

"_--Yeah. Whatever you ass! -" _I throw right back at him "_-- You wanna make something of it? Let's go right now! --"_ I put my hands up into fists, ready to knock him flat right this minute. He looks at me for a moment, like he might take me up on that offer, then sighs and looks the other way.

"_--I'll take care of you later. Cuz of you, I gotta come up with some money fast.. -_-" he tells me, sounding distant.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. What's up with him? "-_-I don't care how broke you are! You owe me a Sundae!--"_ I say, growling and getting ready to jump him if he tries to back out of it "-_-Or I'll tell Keiko the truth!--"_

"_--Yeah yeah.--"_ Urameshi mumbles, dismissing me. We walk the nine blocks to my favorite ice cream shop 'The Big Scoop', in silence the rest of the way.

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So this day had started out pretty crappy, but I guess it was ok now. I'm sitting here with a huge fudge, caramel, strawberry Sundae in front of my face, that will be gone real soon! I'm a happy camper! Course… can't say that for Urameshi. He's still quiet and sullen. What a drag he is…

"_--What's your problem?--"_ I tell him, scooping a huge spoonful of chocolate ice cream into my mouth. The damn thing misses though and drops into my lap. I glance around quickly to see if anyone is looking and I take my hand stealthily and pick it up and shove into my mouth.

Yeech! Gross! Hair! I immediately have to stick my fingers in my mouth to pull out a long green hair! "_--That's just nasty! --_" I unintentionally say out loud, making a face. I hear giggles from a table across from us. Surprised I look over and there, much to my embarrassment, is a group of three high school girls looking right at me. They saw it!** Crap! **I blush hard, trying to look like I don't care. Course.. I imagine it doesn't work too well when your face is all red. Man, this sucks. I thought my day was getting better but it's not.

I look at Urameshi, to see if he's gonna make fun of me too, but that dope is still quiet in his thoughts. He was just staring outside at nothing and didn't notice a thing. Oh well, I know how to fix that…

I take a cherry off the top, and flick it at his face. I crack up as it hits him square in the eye and he rears back screaming "--_What the fuck!!--"_ I duck quickly, as he swings at me across the table. The girls at the table next to us burst out into loud laughter. One pretty girl is almost on the floor, she's laughing so hard.

I stare over at them without outright curiosity. I thought girls were quieter than that? But hey, whatever right? But seeing me looking at them, set off another response. They started giggling again, and the other two girls leaned into the lead girl, whispering and throwing glances at me. _What's going on over there?_

Man, Are girls ever confusing! They act so strange. And they are always talking secrets to each other and stuff. What's so secret that they're always hiding?

Not wanting to encourage them further, I stop looking at them, well trying my best anyway. They keep looking over this way though, so it's hard. Then my worst nightmare happens. One of them gets up, lifting her chin up like she's better then everybody else. She looks my way and makes direct eye contact with me. She's got soft short brown hair and really chocolate-ly eyes like my ice cream. Really pretty actually, but I don't trust her. Girls can be really dangerous creatures. I'd rather deal with a whole group of demons, then one of them!

She comes over, and leans into me and says "-_-You've got caramel on your chin. You really ought to clean it.-_-" Her face is all cool disdain, but I got my own coolness.

"_-- I know that. I just haven't gotten it yet.--"_ I tell her, just as coolly back . She snorts. I look over at Yuusuke who's watching with mild disbelief and a slight interest. '_That's right Urameshi_' I think to myself '_Eat my shorts. The girls are talking to me!_'

"-_- Hey red head! I'm talking to you!--"_ the girl snaps, getting my attention back, and setting her friends into another state of giggles.

"_--Yeah. What do you want?--_" I tell her. I still don't trust her at all.

"-_-It's not what I want.. it's want my friend over there wants.-_-" she continues, thumbing towards the prettiest girl at the table. She had deep ebony black hair that fell just to her shoulders and feathered out. Her eyes were hazel and glowed straight at me. I tried not to blush. I don't think I succeeded.

Now I really didn't trust those girls. Whenever the prettiest one in the group has her attention set on you, it can only mean trouble. I've learned that lesson well enough over the years.

I turn my head away casually and half close my eyes, playing my bad boy card, as I run a hand through my pretty Adonis curly hair. "_--So? What does SHE want?--_" I say icy. She sighs and rolls her eyes at me, not buying my act.

"-_-Look her you imbecile! You better act right towards my friend. I don't know why she would even give someone like you.. a low life, a second look but whatever. I respect my friend.-_-" she starts, arrogance all through her voice. I growl at the insult, she's lucky she's a girl.

"_-- Hey! Watch it broad!-_-" Urameshi quips in, sounding a little pissed and glaring at her.

Much as I don't like her, I don't want to see a girl get hurt, so I say "_-- Don't worry about it Urameshi! I got it. --"_ The girl blanches at Urameshi's name. I guess his reputation precedes him, but she doesn't say anything. Looks like the girl's got guts.

"_--What are you getting at lady?--_" I push, trying to get her to hurry up and leave.

She gives Urameshi another glance and then turns back to me "_--I'm just suppose to tell you. That my friend wants to talk to you.--_"

I look at her strange, trying to figure out what she's up to. "-_- Ok. --_" I tell her blankly.

She looks at me. _She keeps looking at me_. I raise my eyebrows, wondering what the problem is. She sighs hard, putting her hand to her face, all dramatic like. "_** --ALONE. -**_-" she says, over emphasizing it.

I swallow hard, trying to bite back to my surprise. "_--Alone?-_-" I echo after.

She sighs hard, the breath hissing past her teeth. "-_-YES! What? Are you chicken or something?-_-" she snaps, not all girl like. I bristle. NOBODY calls me chicken!

"_-- Fine!--_" I snap, then push past her to stand up, shove my hands in my pocket and dropping my gaze 'Bad Boy' style, I strut out of the shop to the sidewalk outside. I could hear Urameshi's laughter as I went by. Boy, just wait till I get my hands on him!

I walk a few steps away from the door and lean, with my hands still in my pockets, against the wall with my eyes closed to wait. I was there for about two minutes, thinking she was playing a game, and I was about to walk back in when I heard the door of the ice cream shop open again. I slitted my eyes barely open so I could see, without anyone knowing I was looking, and I saw that the girl had really come out! My heart slammed in my chest in my nervousness! What did she want with me?

She comes over to stand in front of me, her hair shifting softly in the breeze, as she looked down at her feet, her hands clasped together in front of her. She looked really uncomfortable. That made me really curious. What was going on? This kind of stuff never happens to me! What is she up to? This had better not be a trick! I open my eyes and look at her. " _--Well? --"_ I say more gruffly then I mean to.

"_-- I um… I just wanted to know…-_-" the girl stammered at me. My eyes went wide. Is she gonna say what I think she's gonna say? No way! "_ --I just… uh…--" _the girls face turned absolutely beet red. I felt bad for her. I was making her uncomfortable. I smile at her softly, and turning on the charm, I grab her chin in-between my hand and pick her face up to look at me.

"-_-Name's Kuwabara. What's yours?-_-" She continued to blush hard, but finally smiled back. Her eyes just glowed like topaz. Such a beautiful girl…

"_-- I wanted to know.. If you wanted to go somewhere with me sometime…--"_ she finally spit out, her voice drifting off at the end and her eyes shifting away. WHAT? My eyes were large like the moon. The girl had asked me out? I… can't believe it!

But what am I suppose to say???? Now it's my turn to be extremely uncomfortable. What am I suppose to tell this girl? I'm in love with Yukina!

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Well, lookie here! This story starting to get a little juicy! he he he Me likey a lot! What do you think?

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	3. Cannibalism Just Isn’t My Thing

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Hello again! I don't know how many of you are reading this out there, but if you read this, I would really appreciate your thoughts. Don't fear reviews! Although I do not tolerate flames. I DO accept and appreciate constructive criticism. If you think something is wrong with this or could use improvement, feel free to speak out! I don't mind! I think it's great. Please be as specific as you can. That's what helps me.

But now it's my playtime… MWHAHAHAHAHA

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"_**Cannibalism Just Isn't My Thing"**_

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_Previously:_

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_**----KUWABARA-----**_

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She comes over to stand in front of me, her hair shifting softly in the breeze, as she looked down at her feet, her hands clasped together in front of her. She looked really uncomfortable. That made me really curious. What was going on? This kind of stuff never happens to me! What is she up to? This had better not be a trick! I open my eyes and look at her. " Well?" I say more gruffly then I mean to. _

_" I um... I just wanted to know..." the girl stammered at me. My eyes went wide. Is she gonna say what I think she's gonna say? No way! " I just... uh..." the girls face turned absolutely beet red. I felt bad for her. I was making her uncomfortable. I smile at her softly, and turning on the charm, I grab her chin in-between my hand and pick her face up to look at me. _

_" Name's Kuwabara. What's yours?" She continued to blush hard, but finally smiled back. Her eyes just glowed like topaz. Such a beautiful girl... _

_" I wanted to know.. If you wanted to go somewhere with me sometime..." she finally spit out, her voice drifting off at the end and her eyes shifting away. WHAT? My eyes were large like the moon. The girl had asked me out? I... can't believe it!_

_But what am I suppose to say???? Now it's my turn to be extremely uncomfortable. What am I suppose to tell this girl? I'm in love with Yukina!_

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**----YUUSUKE----**

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I can't believe the way this day has gone. It hadn't started out that way. It was just like every other day, and they all run together…

I had woken up late for school. That's nothing new. I slunk into the kitchen to grab some orange juice to wake me up, and just like usual.. it was completely empty. There are times I wonder how I don't starve. Guess I'm just tough like that. Sometimes I go over to Keiko's house. They'll always feed me. They love me to death. That I don't understand at all. They're nice people, why do they put up with a punk like me? Hell, if I were them, I wouldn't let me around their daughter!

But whatever, that's only when I'm up early enough. It's obvious I wasn't today. No breakfast. I look for my mom on the couch, to tell her to get her ass to the grocery store to get some food but she isn't there. Looks like she hasn't yet come home from her 'party' she went to last night. _Typical…._

I got half way to school, when I ran across some particularly annoying guy from my school. Some soccer jock I think. He has this idea in his head that he's better then me. Maybe he is, I don't know. But what really gets me, is that he seems to think that he's stronger than me, too. Now that's a joke! Clearly, he's not too bright. Or maybe he is, 'cuz he talks a whole hell of a lot talking crap at school while he's protected by teachers, but he never actually tries to fight me.

Anyway, it's not like I care about that. That's not what caught my eye. It was the guy's lunch. He had this huge bag of food just hanging in his hand, begging me to take it. It was a black insulated preppy boy bag with some blue slash logo, but it was just straining with bumps of all the food stuffed inside. My stomach growled. Yep. Mom was right about one thing.. A way to a guys heart is through his stomach. And I was definitely in love!

I decided that me and the prep need to get more acquainted…

I had walked up to him. He was busy trying to get his 'groove' on with some girl. He had his back to me, so she saw me first. You could tell she recognized me from school, cuz she got the 'Oh shit!' look in her eyes. I'm not very popular with the girls at my school. _Especially after someone spread a rumor that I eat them…_

I raise a eyebrow at her and throw her a devilish grin, letting my tongue flick out to lick my lips in a hungry way. She steps back, looking frightened. Guess she believes the rumors, too. So '_Mr. Jock_' finally stops looking at her boobs long enough to notice the girls spooked. He turns around to see what she's looking at. His face is all scrunched up, angry like, probably cuz he didn't want to be disturbed. But when he saw me, his face faltered and I saw a common sight.. fear. I almost laughed. He was in front of the girl though, and he was probably hoping to get some, so he covers it up as quick as he could. "_Well, look at my luck."_ I toss at him.

He's in a cocky mood. He smarts back _"Urameshi the punk. Planning to rob a bank before school, you piece of trash!"_ Oh yeah… Like that hurt.

But if he wants to talk trash, I'm all for it. "_Hey buddy, Just because you got hit with the ugly stick, doesn't mean you need to take it out on everybody else._" I tell him calm, my hands still in my pockets.

"_Toga?_" comes the squeaky voice of the girl "_You're not going to let him treat you that way, are you?_" He was already smoking though, she just lite the fuse.

He blew, charging at me "_You asshole! I'm gonna knock you into tomorrow!_"

Now. I could've dodged that fist of his pretty easy. That's for sure. He moved like a turtle. But wouldn't you know.. I actually felt bad about taking the guys food. Not that I had just yet, but I definitely was going to. So I let him hit me, get in a shot so he'd feel better, you know? That's just the kind of giving guy I am.

He lands his punch square in my jaw. I never moved. It was sad, now that I think about it. I could tell he was hitting me with everything he had, but it just wasn't crap. My head barely moved to the side, and I never blinked. Just pathetic.

He was grinning like mad, like he thought he had won, till he saw me just turn my head back around like it was nothing. I then stared at him dead on and turned my neck sideways to crack it. "_That it?_" I ask him politely. Figuring I should check, just to be sure. I don't want him thinking I cheated him or anything. His eyes got big.

Yep. That's all he had.

Now it was my turn. I had lunged at him and landed my own punch. That's the bad part about fighting humans these days, I'm always having to hold back. I don't want to kill them. It's takes the fun out of everything but that's just the way it is.

Even holding back my punch directly to his face, sent him flying several feet back. Whoops! Guess I don't know my own strength any longer. Too bad for him I guess. He doesn't move from where he lands. It could be that he's unconscious, I hope he's not dead. I decide I better check. I take a step towards him and his 'girl' goes from horrified to terror in 1.2 seconds flat. I look at her. What's her deal? Like I'm gonna touch her. I could care less. I maybe hungry but I'm not THAT hungry.

She runs, leaving the guy as a sacrifice. Yeah, I can tell she was really into him. I laugh out loud. By the end of school today, I'm sure the other kids at school will call me the "greatest cannibal" on earth.

_Maybe I should get a t-shirt made._

My stomach growls again. My jokes will have to wait, I've got other things to take care of. Reaching down beside the soccer jock, I relieve him of his lunch. It won't kill him to skip one meal. I'm sure HIS 'mommy' will have dinner for him when he gets home, so he can live without.

I got a few blocks away, to sit at the rusted bench under that twisted gray/brown old tree. That tree must be really old, but it's still hanging on. Kinda reminds me of Genkai actually! I laugh, imagining how pissed off she'd be at that if she heard me. Maybe I'll drop in on her later, it's been awhile.

Cracking open the guys lunch, I see I really lucked out. It would seem that this guy could eat a bus for lunch! He had 7 huge rice balls with beans in the center, 2 bananas, 10 pieces of fresh sushi on rice, a container of miso soup, a insulator of orange juice AND a pomegranate. Holy crap! This guys eats this much every day? I'd be the stay-puff marshmallow man right now, if that were me! Anyway, I'm going to be eating like a king! I gobbled up so fast though, I got a stomach ache and almost chucked everywhere! The world a little woozy and greenish before my eyes. I laid down on the bench for equilibrium. Now that I was full, I wished that I had slowed down enough to actually taste this stuff. I haven't been this full since the last time I crashed Keiko's parents restaurant.

I licked my lips, tasting some of the pomegranate juice still there. It's bitter sweet taste still good a second time around. I decide I can still fit some more food in this body, if there's anything tasty left. I open the lunch bag, turn it upside down over my stomach and shake it. You can't imagine how sad I was, that nothing more came out. Maybe I should have saved something for later but it's too late now. I shook the bag once more in frustration and something flitted out. I caught it mid-air. It was $20!

What kind of great luck was that? I heard the clock chime loudly from its place in the center of the park, letting me know that it was 8:00 am. School had just started. Well, if I had meant to go to school before, I sure as hell wasn't going now! I'm heading to the arcade!

I jump up quickly, and my stomach lurches in protest. I have to swallow back bile. Uh.. yeah. I'll have to remember to eat more slowly next time….

I shoved the twenty in my back pocket and whistling, I head off for some fun…

The arcade had been great. Some of those games have been calling my name for awhile. I just didn't have the money to answer.

But notice that I said it HAD been great. See, I lost track of time. Wasn't paying any attention at all. I never saw the shadow of Keiko loom larger then life behind me… _till it was too late to save myself._

And I still had five dollars left to play with too..

It would seem, or so I could guess from all her raging and screaming, that I had promised her I'd go shopping with her. Trying to remember agreeing to something so stupid, I was having a hard time. When had I said that?

Then I had looked down at that perky little chest of hers… And it hit me! Well, she hit me too, but I meant the memory. It was this exact same chest I had been looking at last night, when I walked her home. And when we got to her parent's place, she had asked me if I'd go shopping with her the next day. Sad part was, I wasn't really listening. She could have asked me if I have three legs and I would've said yes to that question too. I was very busy admiring a nice piece of…

Yeah well. You get the idea. So here I was in the arcade, having a great day and Keiko comes to ruin it. It wasn't fair, I tell you! Those things on chicks should be a lethal weapon! A deal breaker! What poor guy can resist? Guys should be able to walk into court and plead innocence. I could just picture it…

(Yuusuke's Courtroom Fantasy)

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**JUDGE**: ~s_ounding stern~_ You have been charged with First Degree Murder. How do you plead?

**YUUSUKE**:_ ~serious~_ Innocent Your Honor!

**JUDGE**: _~raising an eyebrow~_ On what bases, do you make this claim? _~very skeptical~_

**YUUSUKE**: _~in precautionary handcuffs, and you hear them -plink- against the defence table as he shifts~ _I was hypnotized your Honor! By Keiko Yukimora's boobs! I didn't stand a chance!

_~you hear the judge and preliminary jury gasp audibly~_

**JUDGE**: ~_wide eyed~_ No! That would be the eighth case this week! _~speaking to the court officers~_ Bring in Ms. Yukimora!

_~Keiko is dragged in, in handcuffs. She's wearing a low cut fire engine red top and a short navy blue school uniform skirt. Her face is passive and haughty, like she doesn't believe she'll be convicted.~_

_~she is brought before the judge. She doesn't even glance at Yuusuke as she is brought past him. But maybe it's better that way, as there's a bucket of drool on the floor~_

**JUDGE**: _~solemn~ _How do you plead to the charges of malicious intent to control a male, for the purpose of committing first degree murder, Ms. Yukimora? _~leans forward for a better look. shame shame!~_

**KEIKO**: _~flitting her hair dramatically to the side and pouting out her lower lip seductively~_ Not guilty.. _~pout pout~ ~she leans in, so he can get a peek~_ I've been framed! _~lets a tear escape~_

_~Yuusuke continues to drool heavily~_

**JUDGE**: _~still staring, is poked by nearby cop~_ Oh! Yes, right! Oh my! You **ARE** good Ms. Yukimore! Please have a seat. _~he watches her rear, as she walks to her seat~_

**KEIKO**: _~smirking~_ You're going down drool boy!_ ~speaking to Yuusuke, even as she flirts~_

**JUDGE**:_ ~ahem~ _I am ready to make my determination! Yuusuke I find you to be innocent on the grounds that you were INDEED hypnotized by Ms. Yukimora's wonderful little…_ ~ahem~ ~turns to Keiko~ _Ms. Yukimora! I find you guilt of malicious intent of First Degree Murder, and hereby sentence you to 3 hours of jail time! _**whack!**__ goes his mallet in finality~_

_~the crowd is in an uproar, and news people rush in~_

_~Keiko gasps and screams obscenities~_

_~Yuusuke walks up to her and pats her butt~_

_~she tries to swing but is still handcuffs~_

**YUUSUKE**: _~smiling~_ Don't worry! I'll help you blow that Popsicle stand! I won't let you get old in there baby!

**KEIKO**: _~hissing~_ Oh, Shut up Yuusuke! _~is drug away~_

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I snapped out of my sexy daydream to disappointment. Keiko was not wearing the hot little low cut top and I was no longer at the arcade. She had drug me several blocks away to the first of many hellish stores she wanted to shop at. She kept asking me the stupidest questions about whether this person would like that color. Or whether this seemed old fashioned. Or whether or not shoes were meant to be made of this or that material.** LIKE I CARE!**

It was a living hell…

That's why, when I saw Kuwabara miraculously appear across the street, looking in Christmas window displays.. I saw my chance!

Bold as brass, I grabbed Keiko's hand, that lay unsuspecting at her side as she looked at a dress in the window, and begun to pull her across the street. I suppose I should have checked for cars, but I was just too focused for that. They will have to look out for us!

"_Yuusuke?_" Keiko said, at first nothing more then startled. But I didn't look back or respond to her hapless question and it was at this point that she begun to resist me. So maybe not responding to her was a bad idea…

I quickly strain all my attention forward at Kuwabara, willing him to look my way as I drug Keiko, bucking like a mule. He doesn't look. Stubborn fool! He's probably ignoring me on purpose, hoping I'll go away! Well… I won't! "_Oi! Kuwabara!_" I shouted after him, as loudly as possible from the middle of the road, and waving hard for good measure. Yukina turns to look at us, too. _Perfect._

He turned in horrified slow motion to look at me. Yep, I was right. He was hoping I would go away. That's just too damn bad though! I keep marching forward as the cars shriek to a halt around us. "_Yuusuke! Stop it! You're hurting me! Let go already!"_ Keiko snarls, a little to close for comfort. Thank Kami we reached the sidewalk and I pulled her safely on it. She didn't look as appreciative as I'd hoped.

I turned my back on her for the moment to speak to Kuwabara, hoping he'll help me out here when I suddenly get the immediate sensation to duck. I move swiftly to the side, to feel Keiko's open palm whiz right by my ear! I immediately stuck my finger in my ear to remove the irritating sensation before swiftly turning towards Keiko, figuring I'd better not leave her unattended just yet.

I turn on the charm… "_Now Keiko, when did you go getting so violent on me?_" I say light hearted and flashed her a smile. And just to seal the deal, I winked at her in a way that says '_I know you love me_'. She holds that angry look for a moment, before it melts away. '_Oh yeah baby!_' I laugh to myself '_You know you can't resist the Urameshi Love-a-nator!_' Though it's probably best I don't say it out loud.

Before she gets a chance to turn me to mince meat, I turn to Kuwabara hoping to get him to roll for me with just my eyes. I don't want to say anything to alert Keiko of what I'm up to. I just got her calmed down, after all. But it looks like Kuwabara's got some grudge going on with me at the moment, his face all twisted up with ugly thoughts. Who the hell knows what it's for this time. But I wish he could hold off till later. Particularly with the crowd that seemed to be gathering around us. I don't know what was so fascinating about us, but they need to move on. Unless… of course, they want to cough up some dough for the entertainment!

Oh well. I'd better turn up the heat, by turning the tables on him. "_Kuwabara! I'm glad I finally found you! You ditched me today!_" I said, figuring that would be enough to put him on the spot. I found out though, that that wasn't that great of an idea either. I seem to be striking out all over the place today. I'd clearly hit a sore spot by the way he'd narrowed his eyes and was hissing between his teeth. Or maybe it was that his hands were in fists and twitching. I don't know, that was just the impression that I got. I suppose I could be wrong?

He glared at me something nasty. What the hell did I ever do to him? I haven't even been around all day! I try again, with another flash of my trade mark smile "_Psst! Help me out here!_" I even wink for good measure. No good though. That really seems to blow his stack and his face gets all red and splotchy and he snaps "_Why should I when you're the one to-_"

Uh Oh. I better cut him off before he really gets going! I lean into him buddy-buddy like and go "_Oh come on!_" No response, just a really stiff straight body. I press bravely on, switching to out and out bribery "_I'll buy you a Sundae if you help out of-_ "

I see him hesitate and I know I have him now! That is.. till Keiko's voice booms behind me "_Yuusuke! Are you trying to ditch me?_" I scrunch up my shoulders, wishing to cover my ears as she steps up behind me. Great. Now I can't whisper anymore. That really shoots my efforts of male secrecy and bonding all to hell. '_Why not just suck the soul straight out of me, why don't you?_' I hiss bitterly to myself.

This just sucks all the more, by the minute….

**The train wreak has arrived.** "_You PROMISED me you'd help me Christmas shop for a couple hours Yuusuke! I had to hunt you down where you were hiding after school, just to get you to come like you said!_" Keiko said, growing angrier by the word. What does she want with me? I don't know how I even got suckered into this to begin with. Is she really surprised I've become a desperate madman on the run??

"_But Keiko, I was right in the middle of winning-_" I whined at her pathetically. I thought that might work. It's always possible she'd understand, right? Nope. Not at all. Actually, that really seemed to add fuel to the fire.

"_And! You made me so embarrassed, having to practically cause a scene to get you to leave that damn arcade you're always in!_" she was pretty much shouting loud enough for the whole block to hear. Damn female. She's always so difficult. Then she wonders why I run!

Then, just as I was looking for another escape route, as Kuwabara refused to be of any help… "_Keiko.. Um..._" came the small voice of Hiei's sister Yukina. Got to love that girl! She makes it looks so easy, as she soothes everything over with just the sound of her voice. "_If you don't mind. I'd love to go shopping with you. It sounds like fun._" Yukina continued, when she saw she had Keiko's full attention. Wow! I could kiss that girl! Cept… course, that would just start my problems all over again, now wouldn't it?

Kuwabara looked like I had just socked all the air from his lungs, like he just deflated. Apparently this didn't work for him. He **WANTED** to shop with Yukina. Sometimes I really wonder about him. But I held my breath waiting..

I had been waiting for Keiko's response, but it was Kuwabara that spoke first. That was a bit of a shock of the unexpected.. "_Hey Keiko! Urameshi's right. We did have something we were suppose to do today. I didn't want to spoil the surprise but... He asked me to help him find you a Christmas present. Told me he didn't have a clue what to get such a beautiful girl like you_." Kuwabara told Keiko in one of his rare 'cool' moments.

My jaw hit the floor.

What the hell was he doing?? I don't need this pressure. Not from him. This was below the belt! EVERY guy knows that you never let a girl get her hopes up. It's just bad policy. What if you can't meet their expectations? And let's face it. Us poor guys are rarely able to meet a girl's expectations of us. That's just the way it is. Girls want too much, and we just don't have it. We do what we can.

And here was Kuwabara, breaking all the rules. And sure enough, I saw Keiko's beautifully colored face go pure red with embarrassment AND pleasant surprise. This was really bad. "_I.. well... Sorry, I didn't know. I-_" she stumbled along. I'm sure her mind with just racing with possibilities. I sigh. How am I gonna get out of this one?

I see Kuwabara lean into Keiko, and my eyes narrow. I get a really bad feeling in my stomach, then… "_Don't worry Keiko. I'll make sure he gets you something really pretty!_" Kuwabara whispers to her, knowing full well that I can still hear him clear as day. She turns even more red. He's sealed the deal, and I'm gonna kill him! I stare him down, with a predatory look and I'm sure he gets my meaning.

I'm so angry I can't even speak. This is betrayal! This isn't forgivable! Before I can do or say anything I'll probably regret later, I turn and walk off. I don't even trust myself to say goodbye to Keiko and Yukina, I'm that upset. I get half a block away and that moron still hasn't caught up. It's not that I want him around me now after what he did, but he's gonna figure out how to undo the damage he's just done, **NOT ME**!

I turn back around swiftly, my hands tucked hard into my pockets to keep from shooting him with my spirit gun and I snap "_You coming or what?_" He grins at me, like he hasn't done anything, but turns around to give a forlorn look at Yukina. Yukina, however, isn't even paying attention to him anymore, as she chatters away with Keiko. Both girls have entirely forgotten us.

_Good. I hope Kuwabara suffers…_

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Once he had managed to peel himself away from Yukina and caught up with me, I had wasted no time in snarling "_You just had to do that, didn't you?_" But all he told me for a excuse, was what I knew already.. He was angry about me disturbing him with Yukina. That was no excuse. This was a serious offense.

But angry as I was, I just couldn't seem to get myself to do much of anything at the moment. It's really drug me down, this realization that I gotta get Keiko something special for Christmas. I'm sure I really sound like an ass, like I don't care about her. But I do. I care about her a lot. It's not that I wasn't even thinking that I shouldn't get her something nice.

I guess I really haven't been thinking too much about it at all. I just keep pushing back, like I'll have more time to deal with it later. I've been doing that for weeks now. But here it is, 9 days till Christmas and I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do about this 'present'. I don't have money. I don't have a job. I'm just some low life, she tolerates.

Maybe that's what getting me so edgy. I know she's a beautiful girl. Trust me, I notice! Then again.. Lots of guys notice. Guys that aren't me. Guys like the head of the soccer team. Even guys like our school's Vice President. And these guys, unlike me, having everything going for them. They dress 'right', they act 'right', they're popular and smart. Just like Keiko. Not at all like me. Why does she stick with me? Aren't those guys the exact kind of guy she wants? I mean, she's not ever just happy with me. Everything I do, seems to make her mad. Does she stay with me out of some sick form of pity? Is that what's happening here?

I was so far gone in my thoughts, that I didn't even notice that I'd blinded walked straight to Kuwabara's favorite ice cream shop 'The Big Scoop'. I look over at him, and he's practically coming out of his skin and licking his lips. What tough guy gets so hot for ice cream? Ok… Maybe Hiei, but he's another freakazoid, if you ask me. Kuwabara gets so excited over nothing. Maybe that's why we hang out, he's not hard to please.

He's lucky Keiko drug me away from the arcade before I got the chance to spend my last five dollars, or he'd be out of luck.

He got the biggest damn ice cream thing they had there. What did they call it? Oh yeah '_The Big Mama Hippidy Dippidy_'. Mounds and mounds of ice cream and syrup, slammed with a volcano of whip cream and cherries was what it really was. But no matter how good that might taste there was no way in hell that I'd ever order that, having to say that name. Kuwabara, on the other hand, has no shame and tells the cashier loud and clear "_Give me the perfect 'Big Mama Hippidy Dippidy'! And no skimping out either! I want it all!_"

Nope. He has no shame. His gleefulness kind of scared me, truth be told. I also didn't care to be seen with him at that moment. I grabbed the scrunched up five dollar bill from deep inside my back pocket and shoved it in his hand, then turned heel and sat at a table as far away as I could find. I sigh. How do I wind up with the people I'm friends with? They are nothing like me at all.

I keep frying my brain, trying to figure out how I'm going take care of this Christmas present for Keiko. What the hell do you get a girl? What do they want? Panties or something? I mean, I don't know about this kind of thing. Keiko never talks about wanting anything to me. Or maybe.. it's 'cuz she knows I'm so broke, that just figures it pointless to ask. Great. Now I really feel like an ass.

I mean, come on! Doesn't she know that if she really wants something, that all she's got to do is ask? I'll find some way to get it for her. I mean, I can support her. I'm a guy after all! I can do it! Doesn't she believe in me at all? How embarrassing it is, to not see how useless she's always thought I am. All she ever asks me for, is for me to go here or there with her. Kids stuff. Why doesn't she ask me for what she really wants from me?!

I can do more then-** ~PAP~** I get smacked right in the eye with something cold and hard. I rear back as my eye throbs and waters. That really fucking hurt! My hand flew protectively to my eye, as I was screaming "_What the fuck!_!" I look over at Kuwabara, to see him grinning like a madman. I was gonna jump him for that, just beat him until he was unconscious but I hear rows and rows of obnoxious giggling from some nearby table. I look over and see a bunch of girls that look like they're from our school. They look like just the kind of girls that Keiko would hang out with. They're pretty, and probably popular and book worms. **Whatever**. So I'm reminded by them, that I'm in a very enclosed public place and Kuwabara's beating of a lifetime will just have to wait.

I zone right back out. Maybe I can find jewelery or something for Keiko? Would that work? Or maybe I should just get her- "_Hey red head! I'm talking to you!_" an annoying female voice cuts right through my thoughts. Can't she see I'm deep in thought here? I look up to see what the problem was. You can't begin to imagine my surprise to see one of those same airy giggle heads standing at the edge of my table. But she wasn't talking to me, she was talking Kuwabara.

"_Yeah. What do you want?_" he tells her, like he's not surprised she was there. I could tell he was nervous though. It didn't look like he trusted this girl at all. That's good. He shouldn't. Those kind of girls are only trouble…

Kuwabara is looking over at me like I'm suppose to dig him out of this but I don't know what he wants from me. It's not like any of the girls from school come anywhere near me. It all goes back to the whole '_I eat girls_' thing. He's on his own for now.

"_It's not what I want.. it's want my friend over there wants_." the girls presses. A rude little bitch. I would have told her off by now but Kuwabara's just too much a sucker for girls and his damn honor code. He keeps trying to keep his nervousness under wraps but I see his eyes dart over to the girl that was the 'friend'. It's obvious he likes the way she looks. I look myself. Yeah, she's a tight little number with her wide eyes and smooth lips. A real siren. That should be Kuwabara's first warning she's bad news. He never suspects the worse though, that's always what gets him in trouble.

Still glancing the 'friends' way, he mutters at her "_So? What does SHE want?_" He was too nice about it as far as I'm concerned. He should've told her to get the hell out of his face!

"_Look here you imbecile! You better act right towards my friend. I don't know why she would even give someone like you.. a low life, a second look but whatever. I respect my friend._" she injects with a nasty snake like tone.

That was it! Nobody calls Kuwabara an imbecile but me! Ok. Maybe Hiei does too, but that's different. This girl had no right to crack on my friend. "_Hey! Watch it broad!_" I tell her, glaring daggers at her. I mean business. If she doesn't back off, I don't care whether or not she's a girl.

"_Don't worry about it Urameshi! I got it._" Kuwabara tells me, coming to her rescue. She doesn't deserve to be rescued, far as I'm concerned but he'll rescue her anyway. That's just the way he is. That's why it makes me so mad when they make fun of him, it's not like they're better than him, they're just too stupid to realize it.

I can tell though that the girl recognizes my name. And she pipes her attitude down after that, so I just let it go. The girl wanted him to meet the 'friend' alone. When he bulked at the idea, she baited him. Of course he bit. It was a stupid idea, but I knew he'd go. He doesn't say a word to me, just stands up, and struts out. God knows what he's thinking but Man, is he dumb! I just starting laughing outright as he goes. This is definitely one of his dumber moments. He's glares at me and I continue to laugh.

So he leaves me alone in that damn ice cream shop at the table next to all those girls. I had to listen to them talking about his ass as he walked out. Like I really wanted to know! Hello! I'm still here! But they don't seem to care that I hear them.

"_Oh my god! What do you see in him?"_…..

"_He's alone out there now. Go talk to him like you wanted to Michiko!"_…

"_He isn't much to look at, but he does have a really hot ass and a nice walk!"…_

My eyes bulge! I just wasn't hearing this about Kuwabara!

"_I just love the bad boys, don't you?"…_

"_Do you really think I should go out there and talk to him? What if he doesn't like me?"…_

"_Oh come on Michiko! Honestly! He wouldn't say no to you!"…_

On and on they went. I just couldn't block them out. I just wanted to rip my ears off. It was sad, too. Kuwabara gets more action then I do…

This Michiko girl finally makes up her fickle mind and wanders out there. But the twittering noise just doesn't stop.

"_I still don't know what she sees in that guy."…_

"_I know. But she is our friend. We have to support her."…_

"_Oh, I don't know. There's something cuddly about him. I think he's kind of cute to!"…_

"_You would. You and Michiko always fall for the bad boys."_

" _That's true Yukano, you do. Hey! Why don't you go talk to the other one then? He's still at the table and he's all alone now!"…_

"_I don't know. He seems really mean. What if he doesn't like me? Besides… Isn't he the one that likes to eat girls? "_

…_giggling " Maybe the rumors are confused Yukano.. Maybe he likes to 'eat'… girls! he he he..."_

"_OH! I… that's just..."_

OK! That was enough for me! I've heard enough! I'm not waiting on Kuwabara in here anymore with these sharks. He's on his own. I'll let him figure out how to tell them he's infatuated with a demon female named Yukina. I'm not going to be his sacrificial lamb with her friends..

I stand up and feel all their eyes on me. Thankfully they go silent. Kami! My ears aren't burning! Hallelujah! As I'm walking toward the door, I feel like a piece of meat. I have no doubt they're checking out my ass. Normally that wouldn't bother me a bit, but I think I've heard too much. I head for the door quickly.

I shove open the door to hear "_Oh please. I'm not like the other girls. I can be exciting_." coming from this 'Michiko's' mouth. I look over to see the palms of her hands dramatically over her heart as she leans against Kuwabara's chest staring straight up into his eyes. Kuwabara, on the other hand, had his palms and body backed all the way against the wall looking like a cornered animal. It was damn funny!

He looks up and notices me standing a few feet away from him and is just begging with his eyes for me to save him. Hmmmm…. this situation sounds pretty god damn familiar… Oh yeah! That was me before with Keiko and he didn't help me! He's on his own! I smirk hard at him, giving him a mocking look of his own face as I walk right by him and the girl clinging to him like fleas. He's probably cursing my birth right now! HA!

"_Please Kuwabara, just come with me for a little while. We could go to the park or the beach or anywhere you like."_ the girl continued, I could hear her water work tears starting already. He was a goner..

"_I.. I.._" is all Kuwabara could manage as I got further and further out of earshot. Yukina or not, this girl has got him by the balls.

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The girl was right. The park sounded like a great idea. That's exactly where I headed. The park in the middle of downtown was huge and was a great place to get lost for awhile. I wandered in aimlessly, oblivious to everyone and everything as I racked my tired brain for a solution to the problem Kuwabara had created. That girl Michiko just screwed everything up. Now I can't make him fix this. Once again, I'm stuck dealing with everything on my own. Maybe I should just swipe something nice for her and forget about it?

No, that won't work. If she finds out I stole it she'll probably make me tell her where it came from and give it back to them. She's such a friggin' goody two shoes! I mean, that is something I like about her but it's really annoying sometimes. So what now?

That's when I nearly walked right into Hiei. He was lucky I was looking down at I walked or I might not have saw his black boots and cloak. "_Hiei?_" I inquired, though I obviously already knew it was him. And he knew that too, so he didn't respond to the pointless question. You know, there were moments when I understood him perfectly…

Not saying a thing more,_ 'why bother to waste his time?'_, I walk on. He falls quietly into step with me. I guess he feels like my company today. That's something new. Wonder what he wants? We get deeper into the park where the trees are pretty thick and I plop myself on a metal bench. Hiei leans on the tree behind me. We stay like that for a little while. It was kind of nice to have his company at times, you know?

"_What's the point of bothering with it at all detective?_" Hiei inquires with a bland tone that belies his obvious interest.

"_What are you talking about?_" I respond, not having a clue where that question came from or what it's about. "_The girl Keiko. You keep going on and on about this 'Christmas' and a gift. What IS the point?_" Hiei elaborates.

I still look at him like he has three eyes.. I mean heads. What's he talking about? I haven't been talking to anyone about it. I… Oh. I get it now. He's been scanning my thoughts. That's kind of annoying actually. I had thought we were just walking together. It's probably just as well though, I should probably talk about it. "_It's just what I'm suppose to do. Aren't you getting Yukina something?_" I fire back, turning the tables.

"_What are you going on about? I don't even see the point to this ningen holiday. Why would I bother with it?!_" Hiei told me indignantly. But I could tell he was defensive. Good. I felt like picking a fight, Kuwabara style.

"_Are you sure that's wise, my friend? Yukina's really getting into it. Won't she be disappointed if you don't get her something? Won't she be… sad?"_ I raise an eyebrow dramatically at him.

"_Hn_" he humphs in my direction, I could just hear the wheels in his head turning as he fought with this.

Shoving my hands in my pockets once more and smirking at my evil deed for the day, I go back to staring at the ground and wandering in. Much as I like to torment Hiei, it's such fun, I have to work this 'Keiko' thing out. I've already wasted a lot of time and that dope Kuwabara just lite the fuse on that time bomb.

I only get a few feet away from the stewing Kooromie when I crash into someone and knock them backwards. I am a brick wall after all! "_Hey you punk! Watch where you're walking!_" some guy next to the one I ran into growled.

"_Shut up!_" I snarl back. It was some old rich guy in a suit and his son.

"_Don't worry about it Shiguiki. It's just some low life. What do you expect?_" the old man arrogantly smarts.

I am so tired of that crap! These damn rich people have no clue how many times I've saved all their asses from disaster! He needs to shut up! And in a rash moment of anger I swung and knocked the old man on his butt. His son lunged for me and I laid him flat, too! I don't need their crap today. I glare at them to see if they've got anything else to say but it would seem I put the fear in them.

It's disgusting pathetic how weak they were and I just turn and head back to where Hiei is still stewing, and sit back down on the rusty bench. Hiei doesn't say or word or make a comment. I guess I really put him in a state of indecision, much like I'm in. Irony is not dead after all!

So there we were just like before, both just 'there'. Man, but what I wouldn't give to be able to read Hiei's mind right now. I bet it would be pretty god damn funny to know his conflicting thoughts!

Movement from the side catches my eye, and I turn my head to see that old rich guy and his son headed straight for me. And this time they had the police with them! "_Hey you! Over there! Don't move!_" the police man says, panting as he's practically running for me. I turned to look at Hiei. Did he do something I don't know about? Hiei looks at me with a non shocked look, shakes his head at my daftness and disappears. It must be nice to be able to evade the cops that easily.

"_Yes! That's him officer! That's the one that attacked and savagely beat us!_" That's just wonderful, those two dip wads came back. What a pain. At least it's my word against theirs. The cop comes bounding after me, his stick flailing. What's he running for? I haven't moved.

"_You there! Did you attack these men?"_ the police officer demands as he stands before me.

"_Sure. After they 'attacked' me first. Just defending myself_." I say, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I don't think I succeed.

"_My father, the president of Honda Corporation, would never physically attack someone. You're just a low-_" the 'son' carries on with a air of self importance. But just where he gets to the insultive fighting words, his father silences him.

"_We would do no such thing. This boys violence is reprehensible. I should hope it would be obvious who's telling the truth!"_ the old rich president finishes for his 'son'. The police officer… yeah well.. I'm sure you can gather what happened next. Who do you think the guy was going to believe?

That's right. It wasn't Yuusuke Urameshi, high school punk and girl eater. I was hauled away and spent the night in jail. I was stupid enough to waste my one call on trying to reach my mother. But she was out still partying her life away…

At least, I got some peace and quiet in there to finish my thinking. That is. After I beat the life out of my cell mates. See, they aren't rich and they aren't gonna talk…

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That was fun! I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this chapter. But it ran on it's own and I like it just fine!

But hey, that's me, and I'm biased. What do you think?

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	4. This Place Needs Population Control

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I think some people are starting to get into this short little story! That's great!

Course.. then again.. the stories almost over now…_ ~sigh~_

At any rate….

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"**This Place Needs Population Control"**

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_Previously:_

_**--YUUSUKE--**_

_That's right. It wasn't Yuusuke Urameshi, high school punk and girl eater. I was hauled away and spent the night in jail. I was stupid enough to waste my one call, on trying to reach my mother. But she was out still partying her life away…_

_At least, I got some peace and quiet in there, to finish my thinking. That is. After I beat the life out of my cell mates. See, they aren't rich, and they aren't gonna talk…_

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**--HIEI--**

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I can't begin to say how aggravated I am, that still I am here in this stench filled Ningenkai. These pathetic ningen creatures surround me everywhere I go. This whole place is just crawling with them. At least in the Makai there is population control. We kill each other as we please. Only the strongest survive. It keeps the numbers down.

And. If you don't like someone, you kill them. Or they kill you, it depends on who's stronger. And either way, the problems' over. But here. No, this is a wretched place. Here there is no random killing, there is no 'solving your problem' with someone. These creatures fear nothing, don't worry at all for their lives. They walk along through blind and completely pointless tasks, depending on each other far too heavily.

And this dependence is one of their greatest weaknesses. All I'd have to do is take out some major 'food' area or top human and their whole system will crumble before them, reducing them to chaos. They blindly ignore this, or maybe they're just too stupid. And when one of these creatures suffers violence or is wronged by another, they do not handle it themselves, are not even allowed to but bring even more ningens they dub 'police' to take care of it for them. It's foolish and pathetic. I can't stand them at all.

Even Yuusuke falls prey to his ningen blood. I saw it for myself, just this afternoon…

Having checked on Yukina earlier, perched on a windowsill across the street, I had found her being followed along the sidewalk by that raving idiot Kuwabara. I had been watching them for a good ten minutes as he drooled on the ground behind her, till I could no longer tolerate the vile sight and decided it would be in her best interest for me to gut him right now. This thought gave me great pleasure like no other and I was just about to leap down and bring that thought to life when I heard "_Oi! Kuwabara!_" from below me.

I looked down and was startled to realize I hadn't even seen Yuusuke was below me in the street. How could I miss his burst of energy? He was dragging that onna of his by the hand. It didn't look like she wanted to go as she was struggling and screeching against him. I'm not sure why he bothers with her, it never looks like she wants to be around him. But who knows how these ningens think? They are very strange hypocritical creatures. Even if I had an interest in them, which I have none, I doubt even my Jagan could be much help.

Regardless, that doesn't matter. I had stopped because Yuusuke had shown up. Which would break that moron away from Yukina. Don't be confused. I did want to gut him still, but it would need to wait till another day. Not that I wasn't extremely angry at my plan being spoiled. So I left the bickering going on below me and headed off to the park, the last refuge of natural life left in this disgusting place.

I had been there most of the day, in a large tree towards the back that has the perfect wide branch half way up. Propping my back against the trunk and letting a leg dangle off the side, I closed my eyes and drifted off into thoughtless sleep.

I slept like that for only a little while before being disturbed.

Two little ningens were running about at the base of my tree, screeching and chasing each other. The little male one was in hot pursuit of a female one. Why did they have to pick my tree?

I did have a slight hope that I'd get to see a kill but when he caught her, they only tumbled to the ground, laughing and giggling. The male one tickling the little female one, while she screeched louder and louder. They were hurting my sensitive ears and I was starting to get really angry but as I glared down at them…_ I found myself watching them instead. _They were smiling so lightly, nothing dark clouded their eyes. Nothing shadowed their thoughts.

And I found… that I was jealous. I was jealous of these two little insignificant creatures. Of what they had. I saw in them, what could have…. no, SHOULD have been between myself and my sister Yukina. Why were we not allowed this life together? Why were we not allowed to play carefree?

My life.. growing up, was nothing but fear and anger and hurt. Constantly I had to be on guard from attack, or theft or rape. Especially those in the group of thieves I was raised amongst. To be so careless, to think of nothing and fear nothing. If I had been that way, I would now be dead. There is no doubt.

My only saving grace had been my sister Yukina. When I had found her once more and found that she had grown up that way, safe and careless and fearless.. it had saved me somehow. The only light left in my soul had been that wish to keep her this way, to protect her from anything that might try to change it.

But still.. for this moment I can watch these two. It is tolerable for a time, I guess I even enjoy it. The male had been tickling her all this time and now the female was crying. The little male frowned at her. I leaned in to see what he would do about this. I've always hated emotion, the worst of it being tears. I've always wondered what others do about this. Especially ningens, since they seem to leak a lot.

I stared down so hard, I nearly lost my balance! A few leaves come loose in my swift attempt to regain my equilibrium, and they drift down towards those two. The little male doesn't notice, he's so focused on the female. He stares at her seriously for a moment, as if he's not sure she's serious about her tears or not. But then, he decides by the shifting of his shoulders. He smiles at her softly, wiping away the tears from her face as she stares up at him. Then he takes her and pulls her into a hug. What odd behavior! What is the point in that? That makes no sense at all! Maybe he's trying to smother her and I just can't see well enough?

It is the Ningenkai though, I keep forgetting that and the little female is just fine. In fact, she wraps her arms about him, knocking him over again and laughing, gets up to run. Their game was to resume. However, she was looking back at the little male, wasn't paying attention to where she was running. She ran into the legs of a much larger male, on about the age of Yuusuke. He looked pissed and snarled "_Get off me! You little bitch!_" And he smacked her across her face so hard she flew backwards. The little male, stood quickly and shouting, charged at the older male. Not that he had a chance but that didn't seem to slow him down.

Either way though, he couldn't have expected what would happen next. Then again, I couldn't believe it much myself. Without real thought, I had leapt down from my branch, placing my body between the girl and the older male. The older male had jumped back cursing. "_Where the hell did you come? You freak!"_ he was stupid enough to spout at me. I didn't answer him. Why should I lower myself? I turned to the side and saw that the little male had run to the little females side to stand in front of her protectively.

I turned back. "_What? You come to defend these two little brats? You should have made sure they watched where they were going!_" the baka continued.

That was the end of my patience. "_Hn. You should learn when to shut your mouth ningen_." I spoke carefully, withdrawing my katana with emphasis, the point of it a mere inch from the delicate skin of his neck.

His head tilted back, his whole body tensed up as his eyes, concentrating hard on the shine of the blade, glazed over with fear. "_That's right ningen. Learn your place_." I gloated at him. Smirking hard, I flicked the blade slightly, removing a section of skin. He screamed high pitched and tripping on his own feet, turned ungracefully and ran. He kept looking back, like he expected me to be right there. But if I can't kill him, what's the point of giving chase?

I turn back around to face the two little things. They had backed up against the trunk of my tree, the very tree that they had disturbed me from. And they looked scared of me as they hugged each other. The male watching me with protective hawk eyes. He really wished to protect her. How strange that I found that I could relate with this little ningen male.

But they were frightened of me. How did I look to them? My form here is very human like and yet I never can truly fit in. I had protected them. But it doesn't seem to be how they see it. I notice the little female staring at my katana and the shine of fresh blood. I shake it of blood and sheath it. No longer armed with my sword, I take a step forward towards them. I don't know what I mean to say, but it seems that it really doesn't matter. They have no intention of trusting me. The little male grabs the little female and they run, probably back to where ever they came from to begin with.

The little female keeps turning back to look, as if she too, believes that I will be pursuing. Foolish bakas.

Watching them flee, they run past another pair of legs, nearly running into them as well. It was a narrow miss. These little ningens never learn. This older male didn't seem to notice them at all. He was lost in his head. I looked at this male closer, picking up his scent. It was Yuusuke!

Hn. What's he doing over this way? I don't move, but just stand there and watch him. He's walking straight towards me and it's obvious that he's not even aware that I'm here. How could he be so oblivious?

I don't move an inch, just to see what he'll do. He gets closer and closer, his face clouded in thought as he eyes were pointed toward the ground. I thought he'd notice my ki, but I guess not. Just as he's about to step right into me, a jolt of awareness hits him and he stops abruptly.

Tilting his head back up, he looks at me in surprise, stating the obvious "_Hiei?_" I just look at him. Why should I answer a pointless question? Of course it's me. He could see that or he wouldn't have said anything. I say nothing, just watch him mildly. He stares back at me, his thoughts still far off and then he smiles. Bizarre ningen.

He steps to the side of me and walks past. Even more curious. I wonder what he's up to. I follow along side him, pushing into his thoughts…

…_'Damn him! Kuwabara really pisses me off sometimes…'_

…_'Now I have to…'_

_..'No. I needed to anyway. But what the hell am I suppose to get Keiko for Christmas?…'_

…_'What does she want anyway?….'_

…_.'Christmas is always sneaking up on me…'_

…_'Why do I have to deal with this every year? They always make this hard…'_

… _'I'm still gonna kick Kuwabara's ass when I see him again though!…'_

…_'Where am I suppose to come up with money too?…'_

…_'It's kinda too late for a job now….'_

…_.' I just don't get chics and the whole Christmas thing anyway. I mean…'_

"_What's the point of bothering with it at all detective?_" I interrupt his distorted thoughts that circle back on each other over and over. He turns his head to look at me, but I can see that he's still half lost in his thoughts. "_What are you talking about?_" he tells me.

Normally, I get irritated if someone asks a stupid question, but given that he's not even paying attention, I'm not sure what to be more irritated about. "_The female Keiko. You keep going on and on about this 'Christmas' and a gift. What __**IS**__ the point?_" I state, no longer expecting a response.

He actually stops at this and looks at me in an odd manner. He's trying to figure something out, whatever it was, it took a moment before a light scowl crossed his face. "_It's just what I'm suppose to do. Aren't you getting Yukina something?_" he says flatly, still scowling. Ah. I see.. He just now realized I had been reading his thoughts. It wouldn't appear that he liked that._ Hn._

His words though. For some strange reason, they bite me. I know the truth, that he is merely turning the tables on me out of frustration. But still. Does Yukina need something that I've missed?

No. Yuusuke is just trying to get to me. I won't allow it. "_What are you going on about? I don't even see the point to this ningen holiday. Why would I bother with it?!_" I snap at him, turning my head away in a show of indifference. Yuusuke was relentless in his persistence. I know he's using me as a target for his frustration. I contemplate where to disappear to.

"_Are you sure that's wise, my friend? Yukina's really getting into it. Won't she be disappointed if you don't get her something? Won't she be… sad?"_ Yuusuke throws at me, further digging in, his face feigned innocence. How ridiculous!

"_Hn_" I snorted at him.

But still…

Am I neglecting her? Have I not been paying attention? Does she want something of me?

I begin thinking hard of all the times I've stopped by to watch her over the past couple of months. There were even a few times that I've spoken to her as well. But I don't remember at any point, her looking like she required anything. Nor has she said one word of needing anything either.

But then again… I'm probably the last person she'd ask anything of. I'm sure she doesn't see me as someone that would help. It is sadly ironic, isn't it? That I'm the LAST person she'd ask anything of. So what the hell does this mean? Am I forced to participate in this ridiculous ningen thing… or what? I just.. _don't know.._

I am disturbed with my indecision by Yuusuke's antics. He had just walked off from me, only to walk straight into another much older male ningen. What is wrong with ningens today? Is everybody walking into other people? Is there something in the water? I stared at his graceless behavior. "_Hey you punk! Watch where you're walking!"_ the younger of the two males shouted at Yuusuke.

Yuusuke looked taken off guard for a moment, but came back quick. "_Shut up!_" he snarled, as I watched his defiance curving his smile mischievous. I watched on, not out of any true interest, but due to the fact I had nothing else to do at the moment.

"_Don't worry about it Shiguiki. It's just some low life. What do you expect?_" the older male spoke again. Now, had it been me instead of Yuusuke, I would have removed a few fingers by now to correct their attitude towards me. But that brings me back to my point from before. Even Yuusuke falls prey to his ningen blood.

And just as I had just about given up all hope on Yuusuke, he redeemed himself in my eyes. He knocked them both to the ground. Not that he hit them hard enough but at least he did something.

I turned a blind eye to everything else going on and focused on my recently acquired Yukina problem, trying to decide the best way to handle this. There has to be a way to get a straight answer. I **HATE** being taken off guard.

I glanced over to notice that Yuusuke had wandered over to lounge on the bench. Maybe I should just ask Yukina herself if she'd like something from me? Wouldn't this just solve it all right away? Hn. No. She'll just tell me she doesn't need anything. That's the way she is. You can never just ask her.. I 'hn' harder, leaning back against the tree and wishing my sleep had never been disturbed. I had thought this would be the quietest part of the park. Was I ever wrong…

And then, as if testament to that truth, those two males came charging back this way. This time they were followed by the 'police' I had been just thinking about earlier. It's just as I say, ningens never deal with anything themselves. They are always depending on these 'police ningens' to take care of their own business.

Yuusuke noticed them as well this time. I was surprised, he's seemed to have missed everything before. He stood up, and watched them come as the police shouted "_Hey you! Over there! Don't move!_" Yuusuke only raised a curious eye to them, my hand came to rest on the hilt of my katana. Yuusuke turned and looked at me. I looked back at him with irritation. Certainly he didn't think it was me that they had come for. How daft was he?

At any rate, That was all I was going to deal with and I left. This time I choose the top of some building. But even with the wind whipping at my face, I couldn't eliminate those thoughts. They just wouldn't leave me. It's not that it should be that big of a deal but I don't want to be a cause of unhappiness for Yukina. I was growing more and more agitated though and I had to do something.

Yuusuke! He had started this! I will make him tell me if this was something that he just made up, or whether he really knows something I do not. I sprint across the city searching for his ki. I had tried the park first, but he was no longer there. I don't have time for this! I leap quickly to a tall building and removed the white clothe from my forehead, my Jagan glowed warm against my head. Aha! There he is!

Quickly tying the white spell protected bandana back on, I head off for the building Yuusuke was inside.

I had thought that I might just slip into the window of the room he was in but I found the window to be not only small but blocked by thick metal bars. I could hardly see in properly as I hung along the fourth story wall by those very bars.

I saw Yuusuke lying there quietly on the bench, leaning his head back on his hands with his eyes closed. The strange thing about the room that he was in, was that there were 'inner' bars as well, that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Was this some kind of weak ningen form of prison? What the hell would Yuusuke be here for?

He wasn't the only one in there, there were at least four or five other male ningens, but they appeared to be sleeping in several odd positions on the floor…

He didn't notice me yet again. Or maybe that bastard is just trying to ignore me! I was tempted to just rip the bars off and then go in there and beat him to death with them but I held back. I needed answers first. "_Yuusuke!"_ I snapped at him. There was no response. Hn.. I growl. "_**YUUSUKE!"**_ I snap very loudly. He startles and turns.

"Hiei?" he tells me, looking a little tired and bewildered. "_What are you doing here?_" he inquires.

Hmmm… That's a good question, isn't it? And a straight forward question, should get a straight forward answer. "_Where did you get your information on Yukina? Did she tell you something detective?_" I tell him, watching him closely for lies. He looks at me confused, I watch him as he watches me, then I see the light of recognition flare up.

"_Oh_." he laughs "_You're too easy Hiei_."

I glare hard, quickly losing patience. "_Is this some kind of ningen prison? What are you in here for?_" Yuusuke laughs, I growl.

"_Yeah, not prison exactly, but jail. More of a holding place. I'm here for 'Assault'. You know, hitting someone_." Yuusuke's eyes glint up at me. He's enjoying this! Yuusuke's taunting me again! I'll rip him limb from limb!

"_Just wait till I get in there detective! I'm gonna 'assault' this whole place down!_" I snarl, more then ready to go. I grab at the bars tightly and with my feet propped against the wall, I pull out hard. I can feel the cement starting to give then…

"_Hey you! What are you doing out there!?!_" some male voice shouts. I gather it's directed at me. I look around but below me on the sidewalk everyone is walking on. No one is looking up or is even aware I'm up here. I look in Yuusuke's room and see it's not one of the sleepers but yet another ningen outside of the 'inner bars'.

I glare at him "_Baka! Get away from us. I've come here to assault this ningen_." I inform him. I like to use honesty whenever possible, it's usually rather effective. That would not be the case today though.

Yuusuke sniggers "_That won't go over well_." And he never even gets up, just lies there smiling. The male outside the bars though, looks first surprised then pissed.

"_Halt! Don't you move! You're under arrest!_" he shouts at me, as though I'd really follow his orders. He could never enforce that. How they even got Yuusuke in here, I'll never know.

"_I'll be back for you detective._" I hiss towards Yuusuke. Yuusuke doesn't look back, just puts a hand up to wave goodbye. Arrrgghhaa! I'm gonna take him out.

"_Quick! The guys on the side of the building. Move out boys!_" I hear the male outside the bars shout again and I decide it's time to leave. And I do.

I get a few miles away and drop down hard on the pavement. I frighten about four ningens half to death that were close to where I dropped down from the roof but I ignored them and kept walking. The stupid memory of those two little ningens, the male and the female, keeps replaying in my head. This hasn't made it easier. Now I think of what could have been and if I owe Yukina more then what she's got from me.

I've decided at this point that instead of trying to reason this out, it's just easier to get her something. If she didn't want anything then it's still easier this way. Hn. I think I'll just ask Kurama what to get her. He should have some idea and then I can be done with this and forget it. I want to return to my nap.

The only question that remains now, is where Kurama is. I headed first for his home, climbing the large tree that grew near his window. His room was on the second floor. Climbing out on the thick branch, I peered in through the glass. The whole room was absolutely straight and perfect. It was sick actually. Kurama is really sick in the head. He takes his organization far too far. But that is neither here nor there. The real point, is that Kurama is not in his room.

I have to say, that I am a little surprised. Every time I need to find Kurama, I come here. He is always here, studying for his ningen school or helping his mother. The only other place I know him to go is to the ningen school but it is too late in the day. Hn. I hate when people change their routines. It just screws every thing up. How irritating.

Now, I'll have to hunt him. I'd rather not waste the time but I want this whole thing done with. I raise my senses and head off, searching for his ki.

But the time just flies by and I go through street after street seeking him. Where has he wandered? Just as I'm about to head towards yet another area of this city, I spot a tangled mess of orange hair that could only belong to that baka Kuwabara.

I decide to investigate. Maybe he's aware of Kurama's where abouts. I jump off the ledge of the window three stories above him to land cat-like a few feet ahead of where he was walking. Kuwabara jumps slightly, his hand flying up to protect to himself as he squeals "_Eeaaahhh! Hiei, You got to do that? You scared the hell out of me?_" I smirked. But just at the about the same moment, was the high pitched scream of a female from behind Kuwabara. What the hell?

It takes me by surprise and I almost jump myself but manage to keep my composure. Damn females! But the scream wasn't nearly as surprising as a dark haired female taller than myself, peeking from around Kuwabara's arm. He's found himself a female??

I glared something nasty up at him. I thought he was so infatuated with my Yukina. And now he's leaving her for this pitiful creature? MY YUKINA? This creature couldn't begin to compare with her beauty and grace. What is he thinking? My fingers itched towards my katana. I ought to remove his head from his shoulders in retribution for my sister. He cannot be allowed to act this way. She may not have feelings for him but just in case she does, I should punish him right now!

I was just about to execute my plan when another thought crossed my mind. Well, On the other hand, if this is the case, that he wants this female, then he will leave my little sister alone. I never liked the thought of him being near her anyway and this will solve everything. Besides, sooner or later she'd find out that he was dead. And since she knew him, she'd cry. I guess I just can't kill him after all. Or at least until she _forgets_ about him..

I 'Hn'ed' hard and shoved my hands into my pockets, finally breaking eye contact with him. This whole time he had been staring at me, his face turning red. What's wrong with this baka anyway?

"_It's not really how it looks_." Kuwabara babbles at me, his face continuing to darken even more red. I glare back at him.

"_I don't care. That's not why I'm here._" I tell him with great impatience, puffing up. That female ningen just kept peeking out. She was really starting to piss me off. Why didn't she just leave? I hiss at her and she ducks back behind Kuwabara.

"_Uh.. What are you here for then?_" Kuwabara pushes at me. I don't like his insinuation that I should hurry up, but in this case, I am in a rush.

"_Hn. Baka! I just came to see if you knew where Kurama is?_" I retort, with short clipped words. I crossed my arms acrossed my chest in a further show of impatience. The female peeks around Kuwabara again, looking at me with interest. I don't know what the hell she wants but she had better leave me alone!

Kuwabara's eyebrows knit together. "_Seen him? Today? I saw him at school but that was hours ago_." Kuwabara tells me, like I should know this.

I don't like his answer. I don't like who he's with.

**I just don't like him.**

"_You're such a baka! Why did I ever bother to ask you? You don't ever know anything. You're just too stupid._" I tell him, using a very nasty cold tone.

His eyes narrow and he puffs out "_Shut up you stupid shrimp! I know more crap then you do!_" Kuwabara spits out, before lunging for me. I wait till the last second, then gracefully move out of the way so he crashes fast first into the brick wall behind me.

_~crunch~_

The female gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. I smirk and laugh coldly as Kuwabara peels his face off the wall. "_I'm gonna get you for that!_" Kuwabara says barely audibly with his twisted face.

"_Hn. Whatever baka_." I retort indifferently, before disappearing in front of the female's horrified eyes…

So I spent the next forty minutes looking for that damn kitsune. I checked the school, just in case and he wasn't there either. Every time I thought I sensed his ki, it was nothing. I was about to give up. And then;

_I found it._

I think once I saw where he was at, I wished I hadn't. But since I was already here. I should just take care of business. The doors were dark and there were figures bent in odd positions all along it. Funny heavy scents were permeating from the edges of the doors. I didn't want to go in there. Who knew what the hell this perversion was?

I step forward and shove the doors open, walking in quickly. The room was large with marble floors and dark wood moldings on the walls and ceiling along the edges. There were chairs in here but they were overly large and accommodating, like they expected giants. Over at the far wall was a long dark blue marble counter with some male ningen standing behind it. "_May I help you?_" he inquired of me, looking at me in a way I didn't care for. I was beginning to get an idea of what kind of place this was.

"_Don't bother me. I haven't come here for you!_" I retorted, not even looking at him, as I walked past towards the hallway with doors on both sides. Kurama's ki was definitely coming from there.

"_Hey! You can't just go back there! You have to make an appointment first!_" the baka male ningen shouted after me. I did not stop.

My nose was hurting now. The air in here was just thick with this musky scent that was supposed to smell like wood or something along those lines but it didn't. It was choking me. My eyes were watering from it. I kept wiping at them but they were dried and irritated from the scent in here. _Where the hell was Kurama?_

I got all the way to the last door on the right and thank Yama I felt Kurama's ki! Hoping the air was fresher in there, I quickly swung the door open wide and stepped in, slamming the door in the face of the male ningen from the counter that had followed behind me. I threw the lock in place, so he'd go away. "_Hey you! Unlock this door! I'll call the police!_" came the muffled sound of his nasally voice. Figures. He's going to call the '_police_' to fix his problems.

The scent in here was just as bad as outside and I held back coughing. My eyes continued to water and I irritably swiped at them with my sleeve.

"_Hiei?_" came the soft voice of a very surprised kitsune. I turned finally, to look at him and my mouth fell open. That's what he came in here for? He found himself a mate? He must have! For there he was, naked, lying on his stomach with a towel over his backside on a long cushy looking table. A female ningen, stood next to him, her hands frozen with shock as she watched me. Her hands right next to the towel... _Maybe this should have waited for tomorrow…_

Feeling a little embarrassed now, I 'hn'ed' softly and averted my eyes out of respect. I was about to head for the window to leave when Kurama finally says something. "_Hiei? Why are you crying?_"

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Wow. This is getting pretty good, isn't it? But it only has two more chapters to go! Oh well. It is what is is.

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